Reinforced ingot-mold



R. G. COATES.

REINFORCED INGOT MOLD.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. a0. 1918.

Patented May 3, 1921,

HMNMWWHHHHHHHHHHHHI IHMMW (Juno/Mom UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE.

RAY G. CQA'IES, OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR T0 VALLEY MOULD AND IRON CORPORATION, OF SHARPSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

REINFORCED IN GOT-MOLD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

T 0 al Z whom it may concern Be it known that I, RAY G. COATES, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Pasadena, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Reinforcedlngot-Molds, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to metallurgy and more especially to ingot molds for use in manufacturing steel ingots.

The principal object of the present invention is a mold for use in manufacturing ingots of steel and the like, and wherein the mold is provided with reinforced means for increasing the strength and life of the ingot mold.

A further object of the present invention is an ingot mold as specified wherein the body of said mold is cast iron and wherein the reinforcing members are supported by the cast iron body in such manner that longitudinal, or transverse strains, or both, in said body of the mold are absorbed in part by said reinforcing members.

A still further and more specific object of the present invention is an ingot mold as specified and wherein reinforcing members are cast within the body of the ingot mold with the reinforcing members arranged in such manner as to take up circumferential, or longitudinal forces, or both.

A still further and more specific object of the present invention, covering the preferred form thereof, comprises an ingot mold as specified wherein the reinforcing members are cast in the body of the mold and comprise reinforcing rods of steel arranged substantially as rings extending around and within the body portion of the mold, as the circumferential strains predominate.

A still more specific. statement of the object of the present invention in its preferred form comprises reinforcing steel rods as specified and wherein the said rods are substantially circular in cross-section and are arranged adjacent or near the outer surface or sides of the mold.

In the drawings accompanying the specificationand forming apart of this application 1 have illustrated but the one preferred form of my invention, realizing, however, that my invention may beembodied in many forms without departing from the scope of my invention as defined by the appended claims.

The figure of the drawings illustrates a cross-section through the preferred form of my ingot mold.

Heretofore in the art it has been customary to construct ingot molds of plain cast iron. When molten steel is poured into these ingot molds, to make a steel ingot, it is obvious that the interior of the ingot mold quickly becomes highly heated, This heat is an intense heat applied directly to the inner face of the mold with very little op portunity of the remaining portion of the mold being heated by any radiation. It therefore follows that the heat to the body of the mold must come from heat conducted from the inner wall through to the outer wall ofthe mold. Since these ingot molds are made of cast iron, which is of little tensile strength, and which conducts heat relatively slow, and which at the same time has a relatively large co-eificient of expansion, the heat from the molten steel produces a condition wherein the highly heated interior of the mold expands quickly, and cracks the cold interior of the mold. When the mold cools conditions may be reversed to such an extent that the crack is opened entirely through the sidewall of the mold. The next few heats cause such incipient cracks to increase both in width and in length and very quickly these cracks become of such size that molten steel commences to flow through the cracks. The molten steel forms a fin on the side of theingot and when the ingot is stripped from the mold this fin is pulled out from the crack and is forced to bend over and lie alongside of the ingot. lngot molds are usually made with a calculated draft which is intended to provide sufficient clearance to enable the ingot to be stripped from the mold. The injury to theingot'mold is obvious where an eighth of an inch of fin is added to the ingot and must be forced out of the mold for a distance wherein the draft of the mold is about one and one half hundredths of an inch. T he cracks in the mold occur in various parts thereof, depending on the point of weakness in the individual mold,

but usually these cracks begin at the bottom of the mold and extend upwardl v.often turning to encircle the mold circumferentially. Occasionally the cracks extend from top to bottom. It has happened that molds have been cracked on both sides so that when the stcel was poured int-o the mold the mold fell to pieces. freeing the molten steel with all of its potential characteristics of destruction and causing very serious injuries to workmen, and destruction of property. as well as time and material loss.

The present invention is designed to completely obviate the difficulties of the known art and resides more especially in suitably reinforcing a *ast iron ingot mold in such manner as to so support the material on the body of the mold, so as to prevent the cracks from starting. and to hold the body of the material together where the cracks have. started, so that injury to property and life is prevented. In order to effectively reinforce these molds I have found that the reinforcing means may comprise steel or the like, reinforcing members which preferably are placed as far as possible from the interior surface of the mold. Steel has a lesser coeflicient of expansion than cast. iron, so therefore, the steel reinforcing members sustain the cast iron structure at all times during heating. lVhile the reinforcing rods may be arranged in different manners relative to the body portion and be of varying cross-sections. I prefer that the reinforcing members shall comprise round steel rods in order that the cast iron will crystallize uniformly around these rods, and preferably these rods shall be of varying diameter in order to provide suitable retention with the cast iron. Preferably the longitudinal and circumferential members shall be secured together as by means of electric welding or other securing means, and with these members preferably embedded in the cast iron body adjacent the outer surface,

The steel reinforcing member may, to a certain extent, be dissolved in the hot metal forming the body of the mold, so therefore, the size of the reinforcement membermust be of sufiicient size to retain enough body to accomplish the purpose intended. In view of the necessity to keep the cost of ingot molds as low as possible it has been found that the rings for circumferential reinforcement may be open rings with the ends lapped.

Referring now more. particularly to the drawings, the body portion 1 of the mold is preferably formedof cast iron and the opening 2 comprising the mold part for the steel ingot preferably is tapered slightly from top to bottom in order to obtain the required draft for stripping the ingot. The upper part of the mold is provided with lugs 4 that are utilized in the stripping operation.

In the preferred form illustrated I have shown reinforcing hoops 3 which are arranged circumfcrcntially of the mold. preferably adjacent the bottom. the middle portion of the mold. or wherever else they may be required. and may include a member (3 adjacent the mouth of the mold. 'lhcse reinforcing members 5 and (1 may be welded continuous rings. or may con'iprise portions of spiral coils or other suitable arrangements *apable of sustaining circumfcrential forces.

The longitudinal rods 7 preferably are attached to members 5 by electric welding or otherwise, and these longitudinal members extend well up toward the mouth of the mold. Preferably the side members adjacent the lugs l are bent outwardly in such manner as to reinforce the lower portion of the said lugs.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. An ingot mold for making steel ingots and comprising a vertically extending hollow body portion with the opening in said body portion being slightly tapered from bottom to top, lugs on the upper end of said body portion, the walls of said body portion being constructed of cast iron, and reinforcing means having a lower coefficient of expansion than cast iron and embodied in said cast iron and arranged adjacent the outer portion of the wall of said body member in such manner as to sustain forces tending to crack the said body portion. extending longitudinally of said body portion and into said lugs.

2. A mold for use in the manufacture of steel ingots and the like and comprising a substantially vertical body portion being being provided with a substantially vertical central opening, the body portion of said mold being made of cast iron. and reinforcing steel rods circumferentially arranged within said mold and spaced apart in such manner that the cast iron between said reinforcing members is not chilled when the said mold is cast. and with the ends of said reinforcing members unattached to each other and embedded within said cast iron.

3. An ingot mold for use in the manufacture of steel ingots and comprising a substantially vertical walled mold provided with a substantially vertical tapered opening, the walls of said mold being cast iron, and reinforcing members cast in the walls of said body portion adjacent the outer portion thereof, said reinforcing members comprising steel rods extending vertically in said mold and steel hoops extending circumferentially around a portion of said mold.

4. A mold for use in the manufacture of steel ingots and the like and comprising a substantially vertical body portion being avaaca provided with a substantially vertical central opening,.the body portion of said mold being made of cast iron, reinforcing steel rods circumferentially arranged Within said mold and spaced apart in such manner that the cast iron between said reinforcing memhers is not chilled when the said mold is cast, and with the ends of said reinforcing members unattached to each other and embedded within said cast iron, and vertical steel rods secured to said circumferentially arran ed rods. I

5. An ingot mold for use in the manufacture of steel ingots and the like and comprising a substantially vertical walledbody portion having a substantially vertical opening therein, said body portion being formed of cast iron, and a plurality of circumferentially disposed reinforcing members having a greater tensile strength than the cast iron and being embedded in the walls of the said mold and the cross-section of said reinforcing members being substantially circular in order that the cast iron may crystallize uniformly around the said reinforcing members without weakening the body Wall of the mold adjacent the reinforcing members, and a plurality of vertical reinforcing members arranged ii: said body portion and adjacent the outer surface thereof,

As an article of manufacture an ingot mold comprising a body portion having a substantially vertical opening in the center thereof, and lugs on the upper end or? the body portion adjacent the mouth of said body portion and reinforcing means embodied in said-body portion and extending through said body portion adjacent the outer side thereof in such manner as "to sustain strains which are liable to produce cracks in said body portion, and a part oi said reinforcing means extending into the said lugs.

'3. As article of manufacture an ingot mold comprising a body portion having substantially vertical opening in the center thereof, and lugs on the upper end or? the bodg portion adjacent said body portion and vertical reinforcing means embodied in said body portion and extending through said body portion adjacent the outer side "thereof in such manner as to susstrains which are liable to produce rraclrs in said body portion, and a part of said reinforcing means extending into the said lugs.

8. As an article of manufacture an ingot mold comprising a body portion having a substantially vertical opening in the center thereof, and lugs on the upper end of the body portion adjacent the mouth of said body portion, vertical reinforcing means comprising steel rods embodied in said body portion and extending through said body portion adjacent the outer side thereof, and steel hoops embedded in said body portion in such manner as to sustain strains which are liable to produce cracks in said body portion, and a part of said vertical reinforcing means extending into the said lugs 9. An article of manufacture comprising a cast iron ingot mold adapted for manufacturing steel ingots, helical hoop reinforcing means cast in the side walls and entirely embedded in the metal thereof, and vertically extending rods secured to said means in such manner that said reinforcing means tend to prevent cracks in said side walls which materially damage the said mold.

10. An article of manufacture comprising a cast iron ingot mold adapted for the manufacture of steel ingots and having an integral body portion provided with a central mold opening, steel reinforcing members extending circumferentially around said opening and embedded in the Walls of said body portion, and steel reinforcing members extending longitudinally of said body portion and also embedded within said walls.

11. An ingot mold for use in the menu ifacture of steel ingots and the like and comprising a body portion -formed or? cast iron and having walls adapted to be subjected to variable temperatures during the casting of steel ingots therein, which is liable to cause cracks in the said Walls, and a plurality of reinforcing-members comprising steel rods embodied in said walls with the rods extending substantially at right angles to the direction in which the cracks normally are liable to occur whereby the body of the mold is reinforced to retard the starting of the said cracks and to secure cracked portions of the mold together should cracks occur whereby liability of failure of the mold during use is obviated.

RAY CQATE 

